Flow regulator for plunger lift devices



oct. 31, 1933. s EVANS '1,932,452

' FLOW REGULATOR FOR PLUNGER LIFT DEVICES Filed Sept. 6, 1932 l. I l P111; M

ATl'ORN EY Patented Oct. 31., lg3d?A i' y. e t l s'mrEs-jl PATENT Peirce 1,932,452' .FLOW REGULATOR non riluivefln III'Ftii Y DEvioEs Seth Evans; Houston; Tex., assigner vto Hughes Tool Company,l Houston, Tex.; aL corporation of TexasV l f Application september 6, 1932. serai Nt. saines* 7' claims; (oli 1034-52) My invention relates to plunger lift devices'by The lower endv of the eduction tube 5 is eX- means of which liquid is raised rorn'deepwells tended below the surface of: the liquid .being through the operation'oa swab plunger actuated pumped and' is formed with a strainer plug 16 by airor gaspressure. thereon.- Above said'plug isa cross shaped stop It' is* an object ofl the invention to control the member 17 against which the valve stem 18 upon 60 flow of pressurenuid from the well so that the ayalve 19in the plunger 2O may contact to close plunger may operate most effectively. 1v desire said valve. to provide an apparatus whereby the fluid raised This structure so .far described is the usual bythe 'plungermay be discharged from the well plungerlift equipment and need not be further 10 and the discharge passage then closed on until described. l the plunger has had an opportunity to drop on The flow of the fluid from the well is regulated its down stroke. by theautomatic valve 15. The construction of The invention contemplates the provision of this valve willbe' understood best from4 Fig. 3. an automatically operating valve which will be The body of the valve comprises across shaped operated through the liquid being pumped to housing having an inlet opening 21 and an 70 close for a predetermined time to allow the plungoutlet opening 22` for the` iiuid passing thereer to drop and to againv automatically open to through. .A diaphragm 23 which tends to close allow theescape of the pressure fluid in the educthe passage through the Valve has valve opention tube. ings 24 and 25'therein, and a double ended valve r Invention resides generally in the'l provision of 26 of ordinary construction is arranged to nt 75 an automatically operating Valve in the now line within said openings.` The seat 25 is slightly to regulate 'the discharge of fluid from the well. larger than the seat 24, so that there is normally In the drawing herewith, Fig. l isV a side View' a preponderance-of pressure tending to close the partly in central vertical section illustratinga valve.

25 plunger lift device with my invention installed The lower side of the housing l5 isvclosed by a 80 thereon. plate 27. `having a central hollow post 28 there- Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through'the on'to'guide the valve stem 29 and also servev as a lower end of the well with the plunger lift destop for the valve 26.

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Vice therein. The-valve 26 is-mounted upon the valve `stem 30 Fig. 3 is a central vertical section through the 29 whichlextends1 upwardly through the valve 85 automatic Valve employed with my apparatus.Y seat 24 and through the lower wall 30 oi the cyl- In carrying outmy invention I employ a plungfinder chamber 31. Said chamber is closed at its er lift installation of ordinary construction; upper end'byavplug 32 having a central opening There is a casing 1 extending downwardly into torefceivethe tubular housing 33 for the spring'34.

the well for any desired depth. The upper' end The valvestem 29 extends through the closure 90 of the casing is equipped with a casing head 2, wall `30 and has atv'its upper end a piston '37 the upper end of which is closed by a bonnet 3 ttingY `closely vwithin the cylinder 31 mounted about the extension e uponthe eduction tube 5. uponV theuup'per Mend of` the'l Valve. Said valve A fluid tight engagementV is made with the exstem 29`hasasealin the wall 30 and the cylinder 40 tension 4 and the upper end of said extension is 3l has anY inlet port` Y35 at its lower end and a 95 closed by a cap 6 forming a housing for a tubuvent 36 at the upper end.` The spring 34 bears larbuffer 7 of rubber or other similar material against vthe Lipper endlof the piston v37 and tends against which the plunger engages., to Amove it downwardly.

Within the casing head 2 is an interior flange 10 l Ihe valve nstern vv29 has a sliding engagement upon which is supported the head 11 upon the withthe valveI 26 and.v its` lower end extends 100 eduction tube 5. Said head makes a tight seal belowthe valve and'fhasH a head 38, working in with the casing at this point and closesl the pasthe guide28l- Above the" valve is a" spring 39 sage of gas or other fluid through the` casing which engages they valve -26"'at its lower end and head. Above the head the tube is formed with bears against a'rnut'fli) onth'eY Valvef'stem at its openings 12 through which the fluid may disupper end. It tends to Inove'th'e Valve 26 down-` 105 charge into the inner chamber 13 of the casing wardly upon the stern against the' upper end head. From this chamber the uid finds-anoutof this stop formed bythe guide"28'.` let through a flow line 14 leading by way of my The port 35 has aconnection through "a pipe lregulating valve 15 to some place of storage not with'the ow line 14 be'yndftheautomatic shown. Valve `15. There'is a one way check'valve 42 in 110 ing the passage through the valve. ing will be delayed, however, due to the effect of this line which allows the uid under pressure from the well to enter below the piston 37 when the load of liquid is being discharged. The pipe 41 has a second connection at 43 with the flow line. A valve 44 in this branch may be adjusted to allow exhaust of fluid from below the piston 37 at a predetermined rate.

The line 4l also has a connection with a small reserve tank 50 in which fluid from the flow line may be accumulated at the time of each discharge so as to assure sufficient flow of fluid to the cylinder 3l to raise the piston and close the Valve, and to retain the valve closed until the load is discharged.

In the operation of my device the plunger in the eduction tube will be forced upwardly with its load of liquid by the gas pressure in the well and will discharge its load of liquid through the openings 12 to the flow line 14. The plunger will then pass upwardly above the openings and tend to allow the discharge of the gas behind the plunger outwardly through the ow line.

As the fluid is forced outwardly through the Valve member 15, and into the line beyond, it will also exert a pressure in that line tending to force the fluid upwardly past the check valve 42 into the reserve chamber 50 and into the cylinder 31 below the piston 37. This will force the piston upwardly and raise the valve stem and finally bring the valve to closed position. The operation of the valve will be delayed by the lost motion in the valve stem before the head 38 on the stem engages the lower end of the Valve. This delay is sufficient to permit the discharge of the load of liquid before the Valve closes. I contemplate so Calibrating this device that the Valve will close within a predetermined time suicient to allow the passage of the liquid above the plunger, but before the gas has been allo`wed to exhaust following the passage of the liquid, the valve will then close, thereby stopping the escape of the liquid and gas from the well. The gas in the well will then become static and will not interfere with the dropping of the plunger to the bottom of its stroke.

When the passage of the pressure fluid through the flow line 14 after the valve is closed is thus abruptly checked, the result will be to shut olf the `excess of pressure through the check Valve 42 and the pipes 4l and 43 so as to relieve the pressure in the cylinder 3l and allow the spring 34 acting on the plunger to move the piston down and the valve to be forced back thus open- This vopen-- the choke in the valve 44 so that the valve will not open until the piston 37v has nearly reached the lower end of its stroke. The spring 39 on the Valve stem will be compressed first and when the pressure becomes sufficient the Valve will be snapped -open quickly. The opening of the valve will allow the escape of the gas above'the plunger relieving the pressure in the eduction tube and the plunger will then be in position for a repetition of this operation. The reserve cha1nber 50 in the line 41 is to assure suflicient pressure in that line following the closing of the Valve to slow down the operation ofthe valve until the plungerhas dropped down toward the lower end of the eduction tube. It is to be understood that the depth of the well varies largely with different installations, and in some cases the plunger may have to dropk for a distance of a mile or more before reaching the liquid level above the lower end of the tube. The adjustment of this device will be so arranged as to accommodate the distance through which the plunger has to fall. The reserve gas will have to exhaust to relieve the pressure below the piston 37 before it can move down.

It will be seen that with my automatically operated valve I will be enabled to regulate the passage of uid from the well so as not to interfere with the discharge of the liquid and also to allow the plunger to fall on its down stroke without being impeded in its fall through the rush of gas to the outlet. This exhaust of the gas only takes place after the plunger has fallen through the larger part of its down stroke. It does not, therefore, interfere with the free falling of the plunger, and will thus not only prevent the failure of the plunger to operate properly through the opening of the valve therein, but

rwill speed up the operation of the pump by allowing the free falling of the plunger in the manner described.

What I claim as new is:

1. In a plunger lift device, anY eduction tube having an upper outlet, an extension above said outlet, a plunger movablefrom the lower end to the upper end of said tube, a iiow line connected with said outlet, and an automatic valve in said ow line actuated by the flow of fluid in said line to close off the exit of fluid therethrough after a predetermined time interval.

2. In a plunger lift device, an eductionl tube having an upper outlet, an extension above said outlet, a plunger movable from the lower .end to the upper end of said tube, a flow line for liquid and gas connected with said outlet, and an automatic valve in said fiow line to close off the exit of uid therethrough after a predetermined time interval after the flow of fluid is initiated.

3. In a plunger lift device, an eduction tube having an upper outlet, an extension above said outlet, a plunger movable from the lower end to the upper end of said tube, a flow line connected with said outlet, and an automatic valve in said flow line to close off the exit of fluid therethrough after a predetermined time interval, said Valve being constructed to again open to allow exhaust of fluidafter a further time interval.

4. In a plunger lift device, an eduction tube, an outlet for uid therefrom, a flow line connected with said outlet, a plunger in said tube actuated by gaseous fluid pressure to raise a loadof liquid to said outlet, means in said iiow line actuated by the flow of fluid therein to stop the flow of fluid when said load of liquid has passed, so as to allow said plunger to drop in said tube.

5. In a plunger lift device, an eduction tube, an outlet for fluid therefrom, a ow line connected with said outlet, a plunger in said tube actuated by gaseous fluid pressure to raise a load of liquid to said outlet, means in said flow line actuated by the flow of fluid therein to stop the now of fluid when said load of liquid has passed, so as toallow said plunger to drop in said tube, said means being releasable to open said ow line after a predetermined time interval.

6. A plunger lift device including an eduction tube, a flow line connected near the upper end thereof, a plunger in said tube actuated by gaseous fluid pressure to elevate a load of liquid from the lower end of said tube to said flow line, in combination with a valve in said flow line, means operated by fluid pressure in said line in a predetermined time to move said valve to closed position, said Valve being adapted to open again ist means operated by uid pressure in' s'aid line in a predetermined time to move said valve to closed position, means to dampen the closing of said Valve, said valve being adapted to open again after a predetermined time interval When said fiow of fluid in said flow line is stopped.

SETH EVANS. 

